Sony Resolves 4K Overheating with a6500

As much as we loved the a6300, it does have a few flaws, and one of the biggest and most-publicised was the overheating of the camera whilst recording long stretches of 4k video. Many users reported that the camera would display a warning signal before shutting down automatically to protect the sensor from damage. This has been a common complaint among Sony video shooters, and one that Sony has yet to address in the a6300.

To combat the same issue in the new a6500, however, Sony has built a new ‘Auto PWR OFF Temp’ setting. When set to ‘High’, the camera will continue recording up to its 29 minutes and 59 seconds limit. According to Sony, users can then immediately resume recording in 4k without any cooldown time.

Our friend Dan Chung at News Shooter has compared the performance of the two cameras side by side under studio lighting and found that the a6300 did indeed overheat and cease recording after 12 and a half minutes. The a6500, meanwhile, powered through and was able to record for the full 29 minutes and 59 seconds at 25fps/100 Mbps.

Although this is great news for prospective a6500 buyers, it leaves a6300 owners in a bind. Companies such as Fuji have been excellent at providing firmware updates to add value to older camera models, while Sony have been largely silent on the issue. Will a6300 owners (myself among them) now be left with a product that doesn’t perform as advertised? Right now, it certainly seems that way.